


How Does He Like His Coffee?

by protos_metazu_ison (larkspyt)



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, M/M, Original! Earth-One Harrison Wells, goodguy!Harrison Wells
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-07
Updated: 2015-11-07
Packaged: 2018-04-30 09:27:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5158658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/larkspyt/pseuds/protos_metazu_ison
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Barry knows a lot about Harrison Wells, but every time someone asks him how, he says it's because he read his autobiography. </p>
<p>Cisco: "They put his favourite burger in his autobiography?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	How Does He Like His Coffee?

**Author's Note:**

> set in a happy-go-lucky AU universe in which Harrison Wells is Harrison Wells, Eddie Thawne is alive, and Earth-Two hasn't happened.
> 
> also, Barry's obsession is a bit unhealthy.

It was the fifth time Dr. Wells was sighing into the phone in the past hour. Barry and Caitlin looked up from Cisco’s simulation. 

“Is everything alright?” said Barry, frowning in concern. 

“I think it’s the bank. Dr. Wells told me yesterday there were suspicious purchases made on his account these past few days so he’s trying to sort it out,” said Caitlin. 

Dr. Wells sighed again; this time rubbing his forehead. 

“Good to know even great minds can be brought down by the frustration of phone banking,” said Cisco, making a few adjustments to the parameters of his simulation and looking up with a cheeky grin. “He can’t remember his telephone banking answers.”

“Maybe I can help,” said Barry. 

“How could you -“ said Caitlin but Barry was already crossing the room. 

After five minutes, Dr. Wells hung up and beamed at Barry. “You are a lifesaver. How on earth did you remember what my answers were?”

Barry tapped his temple. “Steel trap. I was here when you set up your answers. Is everything okay with your account? Is there a bad guy I need to catch?”

“No, everything is in order. It appears Renee made a few orders using my card while I was sleeping the other night.” 

“Renee?” said Cisco. 

“Who’s Renee?” said Caitlin. 

X

“That’s Renee,” said Barry, pointing at the lady who had accosted Dr. Wells just as they were entering CC Jitters. 

She had bright, red hair down to her back and long legs encased in dark jeans. She would’ve been Cisco’s type if she wasn’t closer to Dr. Wells’s age. 

“So who is she?” said Cisco. 

“Renee Reinhardt. She and Dr. Wells attended the same college. They dated for a while,” said Barry, fishing a super-protein bar out of Caitlin’s purse. 

“And how did you know that?”

"I read Dr. Wells' autobiography twice. It had pictures.”

“That is a detailed autobiography,” said Cisco. From their table, they could see Renee Reinhardt leaning over to kiss Dr. Wells on the cheek. “And apparently they’re dating again.”

Barry went back to peering into Caitlin’s purse. 

“Stop it. You’re not supposed to have more than five of those bars a day.” Caitlin snatched up her purse. “I’m getting coffee. What do you guys want?"

“Could you get me a double fat latte? Iris will know what you’re talking about. Also, tell her to put two dashes of cinnamon in Dr. Wells’s coffee. She forgets sometimes,” he added when Caitlin gave him a funny look.

“Sorry about that. Renee wanted to explain the Amazon purchases she made with my card,” said Dr. Wells. 

“What did she get?” said Barry. 

“A cookbook and a blender. She’s developed quite the online shopping addiction since I last went out with her.”

“Is she going to buy some random item every time you sleep with her?” said Cisco. “Sounds like an expensive girlfriend.”

“How did we get on the subject of my personal life?” said Dr. Wells. 

“Because we’re interested. I didn’t even know you were seeing people,” said Barry. His smile was strained. Cisco understood. Even though he was the one who brought it up, it was weird discussing girlfriends with his boss. 

“I wasn’t. Renee came attached with a lot of pleasant nostalgia. Ah, Caitlin, which one’s mine?” said Dr. Wells when Caitlin returned with the coffee. He sipped from his cup, raised his eyebrows, smiled, and took a longer sip. “This is perfect.”

“You’re welcome. I reminded Iris about the cinnamon,” said Caitlin. She placed a mug in front of Barry. “I saw her make your double fat latte. You are so lucky your metabolism is so high.” 

“Speaking of personal life, has there been any progress between you and Iris?” said Cisco. 

Barry choked on his coffee and spluttered. “Cisco, I told you. She’s dating Eddie. Drop it."

“What did Cisco mean?” said Dr. Wells softly to Caitlin. 

“Barry’s been in love with Iris for a long time. He was going to tell her how he felt months ago, but then he got struck by lightning, fell into a coma, and by the time he came round, Iris was dating Eddie,” explained Caitlin. 

“I see.” 

There was a new chill to Dr. Wells’s gaze, but that was probably because he was commiserating with them. Barry was a great guy. He deserved someone who returned his feelings.

X

"I'm at Big Belly Burger," said Barry over the earpiece, on his way back from stopping a robbery. “Do you guys want me to bring you back something?”

“Barry, you’re still in your Flash outfit,” said Caitlin. 

“It’s Flash day. Every kid and geek in the city is wearing a Flash outfit. Told you we should have copyrighted it.”

“Damn,” said Cisco. “Since you’re there, I want the double cheeseburger with no tomatoes and a large Coke.”

“Caitlin?” 

“Just medium order of fries for me, thanks,” said Caitlin. 

“And get me -,” said Dr. Wells.

“Classic cheese with extra ketchup, large fries and a Coke,” said Barry. “Got it.” 

“How did you know what I wanted?” said Dr. Wells in between bites of his classic cheese. 

"Need I remind you? I've read your autobiography. Twice." 

"You put your lunch order in your autobiography?" said Cisco through a mouthful of fries. 

"Of course not," said Dr. Wells. He rubbed his chin. "I don't think I did." 

“Come on, I’ve seen you eat so many Big Belly meals here at the lab, I’d have to have amnesia not to know what your usual order is.”

“I don’t know what it is,” said Cisco.

“Neither do I,” said Caitlin. 

“I guess you guys weren’t paying attention,” said Barry. “Here, I can prove it. What’s my usual pizza order?”

“Olives, pepperoni, and jalapeño.You’ll never be able to accuse me of not paying attention to you, Barry Allen.” Dr. Wells smirked, holding Barry’s stare until his mobile went off. “It’s Renee. Excuse me for a moment.”

“Yeah, I can,” said Barry softly.

Caitlin sighed, catching Cisco’s attention, and cocked her head towards Barry. He was staring dejectedly at his triple cheeseburger with mushrooms. The thought of Dr. Wells dating again must be reminding Barry of his situation with Iris. They wished they could do something for Barry. 

X

Dr. Wells accepted the invitation to spend Christmas at the West household rather last minute. He’d caught Renee purchasing a karaoke machine, two dresses, and several boxes of chocolates. Although she promised she would pay him back, Dr. Wells had decided to end the relationship. 

“Thanks for having me,” he said when Barry greeted him at the door. “I never much liked this time of year, but right now I didn’t want to spend it alone.” 

“You’re always welcome here,” assured Barry, pressing a cup of Grandma Esther’s famous eggnog into his hands. “Fortunately, your Secret Santa has been informed and your gift is with the others under the tree.”

Caitlin stared into her own cup. It felt awkward knowing that Barry was busying himself with making Dr. Wells feel at home so he wouldn’t have to face Iris and Eddie snuggling up on the armchair by the tree. She turned to Joe. “Do you ever feel like you want to step in? I mean, I know Iris is happy with Eddie, but whenever I look at Barry I can’t help but wonder if, you know, she made the right choice.”

Joe narrowed his eyes. “What are we talking about?”

“Barry and Iris.”

“You think Barry has feelings for Iris?”

“Doesn’t he? He told us he did."

Joe chortled. “Barry hasn’t had feelings for Iris since they were 13.”

“What?” said Cisco, who had been standing within earshot and therefore had been eavesdropping. “But all those looks and the sighing and the - the - wait, he does have feelings for someone. It’s just not Iris.”

“If you don’t know who Barry likes, it’s not my place to tell,” said Joe, raising his hands and getting off the sofa. 

Cisco and Caitlin exchanged looks. Cisco pointed at her skeptically. You? Caitlin shook her head. Absolutely not. She and Barry were just friends. She pointed at Cisco? You? Cisco laughed so hard he choked. The both of them frowned. Maybe it was Linda, Barry’s ex. 

Half an hour later, Iris declared it was time to open the gifts and picked up the nearest present. “This one is for Dr. Wells.”

Dr. Wells tore off the wrapping paper and was confronted with Stephen Hawking’s latest book. He quickly reigned in a scowl. “Um, thank you. I never thought-“

Barry burst into laughter. “Oh, you should have seen your face. I've heard how much you don’t like Hawking but that look on your face.” He came forward and drew out a long, rectangular box from behind his back. “For real this time.”

Dr. Wells made a delighted sound at the oak-aged single malt whisky in Barry’s hands.

“I’m no expert, but I figured whisky with such a long name has got to be good,” said Barry. 

Dr. Wells dragged his wondering gaze from the whisky to Barry. “I have been looking all over for this. How did you know?"

“I read that you like that sort of stuff. In your- “

"My autobiography." Dr. Wells nodded. “I have to pick it up again sometime. I've apparently put in more information about myself than intended. Nevertheless, this is very much appreciated. Thank you," he said with a smile that warmed his eyes. 

Barry turned pink and mumbled, “You’re welcome.”

Caitlin and Cisco drank their eggnog. 

Oh. 

X

It had been simple to confirm their hypothesis. Cracking into Barry’s laptop was laughably easy, given Cisco’s skill set. Calling up a search of everything related to Harrison Wells from the laptop had been an eye-opener and a half. A folder filled with articles written by and about Dr. Wells. A folder of photos taken by a professional photographer for the more popular scientific magazines. A Google Search alert for ‘Harrison Wells’ and ‘Star Labs’ and the wikipedia page for Professor Renee Reinhardt visited within the last month. 

“Read it from his autobiography my ass,” said Cisco with an exhale. 

X

Caitlin made sure that when Barry arrived at Star Labs the following Monday that she and Cisco were nowhere near Dr. Wells. Instead, they were in the surveillance room with breakfast coffee and croissant. All they had was a black-and-white feed and audio, but even from the surveillance room, they could feel the tension when Dr. Wells made his appearance. 

“Ah, Mr. Allen, just the man I wanted to see.”

“Why do I feel like I’m being called into the principal’s office?”

Dr. Wells chuckled. “Hardly. It’s come to my attention that you’ve been spreading lies about me.”

Barry frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“I never put Renee in my book. Nowhere in its 364 pages did I mention my love of single malt whisky. I’ve never told the baristas at Jitters about my coffee preferences and you weren’t present when I set up my security banking answers.” With every charge thrown, Dr. Wells slid closer and closer to Barry until he crowded him against the wall. Dr. Wells took Barry’s wrist and pressed a gentle thumb against his rabbiting pulse. “How closely have you been watching me, Mr. Allen?” 

Caitlin and Cisco reeled backwards when Barry crushed his mouth against Dr. Wells's. Cisco quickly pressed the button to cut off the feed while Caitlin used the napkins to mop up the coffee they spilled. 

“Well,” she said, “I’m glad - I’m glad -“ She cleared her throat. “Maybe we should give them a few minutes.”

Cisco stared into the distance at nothing. “I hope this was a good idea.”


End file.
